DVD/Blu-ray Breakdown: July 20, 2010

This week’s home video releases provide a short, but varied list of films. Unfortunately, there are no Blu-ray re-releases of interest, so the four new releases are all that we have to discuss today.

None of the new releases hit it big at the box office. But most are worthy rentals and possibly even blind buys. I wouldn’t go as far as to say they will be remembered for years to come, but each brings a unique quality to filmmaking and presents more than a generic brand.

The following movies can be found on DVD and Blu-ray this week.

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NEW RELEASES

The Losers- While the adaptation of this lesser-known DC comic book didn’t lure hordes of people into theaters, it was the first worthy action flick of 2010. At least, that’s what Screen Rant head honcho Vic thought in his review. The film just barely made its production budget back with a worldwide box office of $27.9 million.

The Losers may have been a failure in theaters, but Warner Bros. has remained faithful to the comic book world and used some of that revenue from more popular titles to fund this kind of project. And it wasn’t nearly as bad as the box office showed.

Help give The Losers a second life on home video and you’ll be rewarded with a fantastic video and audio transfer. Unfortunately, the special features leave plenty to be desired. This could very well be a result of a poor box office and a studio saving money with a film that just couldn’t stick.

Cop Out – Kevin Smith’s buddy-cop comedy put an unlikely pair together in what sounded like a sure thing. Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan working the police beat together sounded great on paper – but the draw just wasn’t there. The film cost $30 million to make and only garnered $52 million worldwide. Yet, it was Kevin Smith’s best film at the domestic box office.

As usual, Smith brings a plethora of bonus features to home video. Warner Bros. Maximum Movie Mode is becoming a feature many look forward to and Kevin Smith is perfect for it. He opened up so much about the film that Maximum Movie Mode lasts almost twice as long as the film. Blu-ray tried its best to describe the feature.

“Smith helms a three-hour, hyperkinetic “Maximum Comedy Mode” comprised of playful Picture-in-Picture walk-ons, stretches of audio and video commentary, more than an hour of deleted scenes and outtakes, additional behind-the-scenes footage, wisdom from the Shit Bandit, pop-up production factoids (peppered with jokes), storyboards, and plenty of solid laughs. Pausing the film at will, Smith eagerly dissects Cop Out and its subtle and not-so-subtle genre references, sharing countless anecdotes and insights along the way. He takes shots at his own work, clears up any confusion about the sort of film he was attempting to make, details the on-set atmosphere, and doesn’t allow any easter egg to go unnoticed.”

The Runaways – The all-girl band biopic was easily the surprise film of 2010 for me. I went on the simple desire to see Dakota Fanning act, because she almost always delivers. What I got was a brilliantly shot and well-directed story about women on a crash course of destiny.

The Runaways didn’t really go big, so it went home with only $3 million at the box office collected from a measly 244 theaters. But it’s not the film’s fault – blame it on the lack of marketing. They could have sold this film in a number of ways, one of which would have been inappropriate, but does include two TwilightSaga stars kissing.

The special features include a 15-minute piece on the making of The Runaways and an audio commentary with Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. I am definitely looking forward to hearing that, especially since Joan Jett played an integral role in the production of the film.

Mother – This South Korean film flew way under the radar for most as it got a limited treatment in America. But it did muster up $17 million worldwide.

The story follows a mother on a revenge kick to prove her son was framed for a gruesome murder. Hye-ja Kim’s performance as Mother is intense and gripping. This film is absolutely worth a rent and should be seen at any cost.

If the trailer doesn’t intrigue you, then you’ll just have to take my word on it.

There are no Blu-ray re-releases this week of specific interest.

Next week is a great one for home video. Not only do we get Clash of the Titans, but it is in 2D, which means it might not be as unbearable as the theatrical post-converted 3D version. In addition, Batman: Under the Red Hood will hit DVD and Blu-ray – be sure to check out the early review posted by our own Kofi Outlaw.

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jose castro 4 years ago

well i love how you can buy it on blu-ray and DVD. becuase if you Blu-ray breaks you got the DVD version. The only movies that im intrested to buy and watch agian and again is cop-out, that movie was freakin funny, The losers i would rent becuase it was alright, and the other 2 never watch but i heard that the runaways sucked, and i never heard of mother?

I really enjoyed The Losers. It did everything right that The A-Team did wrong. It was funny, badass and the action scenes were actually comprehensible. The only thing that could have made it better is an R-ratng as it seemed a little neutered in the violence and profanity department, which is what these dumb action movies are all about. I can’t wait for The Expendables!!!